Volume 2: The Rise of Evil
By Shanil Misra Iridia was once a peaceful world, cohabited by Elves, Mermen and Dwarfs. Then Man arrived. The original inhabitants soon found that they could not coexist with Man and his many vices. The Elves fled to the forests, the Mermen the oceans and the Dwarfs the mountains. The magical creatures of Iridia, such as the unicorns and griffins, were hunted mercilessly. Dragons, annoyed by Man’s interference in their affairs, retreated to their vast network of caves to slumber. Man discovered magic, engaged in magical experimentation, and Arcane magic was formalized. Guilds of wizards were formed and were in high demand in all four kingdoms. Experimentation resulted in hybrid races and black magic, and practitioners of the Dark Arts were banned from all formal guilds. Senior wizards were highly sought after as protectors and advisers to royalty and nobility. All ethical wizards aspired towards guild memberships of the opulent port of Halibar, or the ancient city of Mount Grande. Two centuries ago, the first Wizard of Light was born, molded with Man’s attributes, but with a special affinity for the primal magical energy of Iridia. He called this cosmic energy the “Flow”, and found he was as attuned to the Flow as much as his other senses were attuned to his surroundings. Five other Wizards of Light were born since, each with primary powers aligned to his color of the Light. “The Six” became elite advisors to the royalty of Iridia. Then an ancient entity came to them in their dreams. It hungered for the Flow. It conveyed to them in their nightmares its primordial desire to devour the energies of the world itself. It needed to feed, and it needed them to prepare the world for its coming. The six split into factions of three. Red, Orange and Yellow chose the dark path and became pawns of their Master. Their leader, Rubeus of the Red, initiated the Great Purge. What followed were years of tyranny as the Elves, Dwarfs and other hybrid races were culled to the verge of extinction. The other faction of Blue, Indigo and Violet simply called the entity the “Evil”. This trio vowed to oppose the oppression of the Triad, before they split up. Mauve of the Indigo was appointed Protector of Halibar, the last outpost of freedom in the world. Azurean of the Blue raised Viridian of the Green in seclusion in the desert, then sent him for training in Halibar when he was nineteen. He returned to Halibar to help Mauve withstand an attack against the Triad’s army, helped by Limbar the Black, three red dragons, the traitor Albar and his demon. Tyrian of the Violet could not help Mauve as Rubeus had kidnapped Lissandra the elf. The young Viridian, or Vee for short, could not help initially, due to a devious imprisonment by Rubeus. Then he returned on the back of Shandar the magical unicorn, and used his heightened power over the Flow to save Halibar from certain destruction. What follows are the further adventures of Vee as Halibar recovers from its terrible battle, and the Triad prepares for the coming of their Master: the rise of Evil.